[4] [Untitled map of the crossing of the Sierra
Nevada by the South Fork of the American River] (22.5 x 64 cm; 8-7/8
x 25-1/4 inches).

[5] Map of an Exploring Expedition to the
Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842, Oregon & North California in the
Years 1843-44 by Brevet Capt. J. C. Fremont of the Corps of Topographical
Engineers Under the Orders of Col. J. J. Abert, Chief of the Topographical
Bureau. Lith. by E. Weber & Co., Baltimore, Md. (76.5 x 128 cm;
30-1/8 x 50-3/8 inches).Wheat, Mapping
the Transmississippi West 497; Maps of the California Gold Region
21.

First edition, the Senate issue, with the
astronomical and meteorological observations omitted from the House issue
and subsequent editions. Cowan I, pp. 91, 269. Cowan II, p. 223. Edwards,
Enduring Desert, pp. 89-90. Graff 1436. Grolier American
Hundred 49. Hill, pp. 112-13. Holliday 396. Howell 50, California
88. Howes F370. Huntington Library, Zamorano 80...Exhibition of Famous
and Notorious California Classics 39. Mintz, The Trail 165.
Plains & Rockies IV:115:1. Schwartz & Ehrenberg,
The Mapping of America, pp. 262, 271-78. Streeter
Sale 3131: “Though the [large folding] map is unsigned, Lt. G. K. Warren
in his Memoir, p. (45), says ‘it was drawn by Charles Preuss,
whose skill in sketching topography in the field and representing it on the
map has probably never been surpassed.’ Though the Oregon Trail and
the Spanish Trail had been regularly used for a few years there were
no dependable maps. For other parts of Frémont’s route, much of the
recording of his map was new, including the whole extent of the Sierra
Nevada Range, the California rivers from the American River south, and
the three Colorado rivers.—TWS.” Tweney, The Washington 89 #22.
Walgren, The Scallawagiana Hundred: A Selection of the
Hundred Most Important Books about the Mormons and Utah 29. Walker,
A Literary History of Southern California, pp. 172-73: “As
the coauthor of Frémont’s report [Jessie Benton Frémont] exerted as much
influence on expanding America as any woman of her day.” Zamorano 80
#39.Wheat, Mapping the Transmississippi West
497 & II, pp. 194-200: “[Frémont’s report and map] changed the entire
picture of the West [and] represented as important a step forward from
the earlier western maps of the period as did those of Pike, Long, and
Lewis and Clark in their day.... [Frémont’s map] represented trustworthy
direct observation, a new, welcome, and long overdue development in the
myth-encrusted cartography of the West. To Frémont and his magnificent
map of his Second Expedition all praise. An altogether memorable document
in the cartographic history of the West, and for it alone Frémont would
deserve to be remembered in history.... This map marked not only the
end but the beginning of an era”; Maps of the California Gold Region
21: “[Frémont’s] large map showing Frémont’s routes, had wide circulation
and was used as a base for a number of later maps.... This volume also
contains a map, on a scale of three miles to one inch, showing the entire
course of the ‘Rio de los Americanos’ from the region of ‘Mountain Lake’
[Lake Tahoe] to its junction with the Sacramento, below ‘New Helvetia.’”
Wheat points out that the 1845 Frémont-Preuss map served as a basis for
the 1848 Frémont-Preuss map (see California 49: Forty-Nine Maps of
California from the Sixteenth Century to the Present 27n).
($1,000-2,000)

39A. FRÉMONT, J[ohn] C[harles] [& Jessie
Benton Frémont].Narrative of the Exploring Expedition to the
Rocky Mountains, in the Year 1842, and to Oregon and North California,
in the Years 1843-’44. London: Wiley & Putnam, 1846. 324 pp., 4
lithographic plates by Day & Haghe, large folding lithographic map:
Map of the Western & Middle Portions of North America,
to Illustrate “The History of California, Oregon & the Other Countries.
On the North West Coast of America” by Robert Greenhow [below rule]:
London, Wiley & Putnam (58 x 64 cm; 23-7/8 x 25-1/4
inches). 8vo, original navy blue blindstamped cloth, spine gilt-lettered.
Minor shelf wear (extremities chipped), spine slightly faded, some spotting
and staining to covers, hinges cracked, occasional light foxing, old
tape repair (approximately 5 cm) to map at juncture with book block, generally
a very good copy, the text for the most part clean and bright, the map
excellent except for the tape repair on verso which does not show on
the face of the map. Armorial bookplate of Chase.First English edition, an unrecorded issue, similar
to Plains & Rockies IV:115:6, but with two additional plates
(for a total of four) and without the ads. We have owned a copy of this
variant before. Howes F370 (calling for 2 plates). Norris 1179. Wheat,
Mapping the Transmississippi West 481n & vol. II, p.
184 (stating that the map appeared in Greenhow’s History of Oregon
published at Boston in 1844); Maps of the California Gold Region
22n (noting that the map appeared in the English and American editions
of Greenhow): “This is a beautifully executed map, but added little to
cartographical knowledge.” For more on Greenhow, see Howes (G389) and Tweney,
The Washington 89 #22. The British edition of Frémont, which
adds an introduction discussing the Oregon dispute, is printed on much
better paper than U.S. editions. The plates were created by one of the
largest and most prominent lithographic firms in nineteenth-century England,
William Day & Louis Haghe, Lithographers to the Queen (see Tooley,
1999 edition, p. 343). The art of lithography in colors was raised to
new heights by some of the magnificent and classic plate books that
Day & Haghe published, such as Roberts’s monumental Egypt and
Nubia (London, 1846-1849) and Bedford’s Holy Land (London,
1863). However, the firm’s lithographs are occasionally found in Plains
& Rockies titles and Texana, such as the map in Maillard’s The
History of the Republic of Texas (London, 1842) and Houstoun’s Texas
and the Gulf of Mexico (London, 1844), renowned for its imaginary
“Alpine” views of Houston. ($250-500)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John C. Frémont’s Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky
Mountains...and to Oregon and California can only be described as
one of the monumental works of Western exploration. Although preceded
by mountain men and immigrants, Frémont opened the West to an entire
nation. By accurately describing this vast territory from the Missouri
River to the Pacific Ocean, his government report became the vade mecum
of Manifest Destiny. Its words, maps, and pictures paved the way for
future waves of overlanders culminating in the flood tide of the Gold
Rush. Historians from Hubert Howe Bancroft (q.v.) to William H. Goetzmann
bestowed upon the “Pathfinder” the highest praise for his accomplishments
as a scientific explorer. The celebrated savant, Alexander von Humboldt,
congratulated Frémont as a geographer and explorer and Brigham Young,
the great Mormon prophet, read with keen interest his description of
the Salt Lake Valley and its potential as a new Zion. Frémont, as he
readily acknowledged, benefited from a superb supporting cast beginning
with his wife and amanuensis, Jesse Benton Frémont; his powerful father-in-law,
Senator Thomas Hart Benton; and his courageous and knowledgeable scouts
and scientists including Kit Carson, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Alexis Godey,
and Charles Preuss. His reports and those of his later expeditions made
him a national hero and a charismatic symbol of American expansionism.
The first Frémont-led expedition of 1842, as documented in
this pregnant report, did not have as its mission a trek to the Pacific
Coast or California but rather concentrated on investigating the Oregon
Trail as far as South Pass. Upon returning and flushed with success,
this high-energy officer in the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers
immediately made plans for an even more ambitious second expedition.
Its purpose was to map the Oregon Trail as far as its Pacific terminus
and to connect the coastal surveys made during Commander Charles Wilkes’s
Great Exploring Expedition of 1841. By the fall of 1843, Frémont’s mission
had achieved its Oregon objective. Greater glory, however, awaited by
turning south and heading to California in search of the elusive, mythical
Buenaventura River that would hopefully provide a liquid highway similar
to the Columbia. Twenty-five men led by Frémont left the Columbia River
area on November 25, and by December reached the Great Basin. At that
point, Frémont made the crucial decision to cross the Sierra in winter thus
beginning one of the most harrowing journeys in the annals of Western
exploration. In January and February of 1844, with the occasional assistance
of Native American guides, Frémont’s cavalcade trudged through the Sierra
snow following the Truckee River, passing by Lake Tahoe, traveling near
Carson Pass, and finally descending the western slope following the American
River. All along, Frémont made scientific observations amid the most
trying conditions. He consistently praised the courage of his half-frozen
men, and from the Native Americans encountered he and his men learned
to become diggers themselves by eating pine nuts, acorns, grasses, and
wild onions. Finally on March 6, they made it to Sutter’s Fort and survival.
Not one man died but the explorer reported: “Out of 67 horses and mules
which we commenced crossing the Sierra, only 33 reached the valley of
the Sacramento.” Frémont also left behind a brass canon.
After a two week respite at Nueva Helvetia and enjoying Captain
John Sutter’s generous hospitality, the expedition set out to explore
the Great Central Valley of California. Frémont in his report gave a
careful description of the fort, the various agricultural and manufacturing
enterprises Sutter had underway, and the assortment of Americans, Europeans,
and Native Americans working for him. Frémont’s narrative of the trip
down the valley is a naturalist’s dream. He beautifully described the
bountiful flora and fauna found along the way, recording the Latin names
for each. Flocks of birds, herds of elk, fields of golden poppies, and
groves of majestic oak delighted their eyes. At one point they came upon
“a most beautiful spot of flower fields” and rode “along through the
perfumed air.” Such poetic imagery pointed out the extraordinary potential
of this verdant land. On April 15, the travel-weary Pathfinder recorded
the following colorful portrayal of what his multicultural, tatterdemalion
expedition looked like: “Our cavalcade made a strange and grotesque
appearance...guided by a civilized Indian, attended by two wild ones
from the Sierra; a Chinook from the Columbia; and our own mixture of
American, French, German—all armed; four or five languages heard at
once; above a hundred horses and mules, half wild; American, Spanish
and Indian dresses and equipment intermingled—such was our composition.”
Thereafter, the quarter-mile-long “procession,” as he called it, headed
over Tehachapi Pass, through the Mojave Desert, picked up the Old Spanish
Trail, and made it home, concluding an eight-month journey of over 3,500
miles. They had achieved an amazing geographic triumph and proved once
and for all the nonexistence of the Buenaventura River as an east-west
aqueous thoroughfare.
The report of Frémont’s grand odyssey, with the judicious
help and writing of Jesse, was transformed into a heroic epic of adventure.
Published in an edition of 10,000 copies for use by the U.S. Senate,
the narrative was supported by plates, scientific tables, and maps, including
a magnificent rendering of the entire trip by Charles Preuss. Without
question, it added immensely to the nation’s understanding of the continent
and captured the public’s imagination. A New Canaan awaited settlement
on the shores of the Pacific. In the near future, it would be avidly
read by gold seekers. William Goetzmann, in sizing up the importance
of this journey, wrote: “All in all, Frémont’s trek of 1843-44 had been
a great and epic journey, one that would have secured his place in history
forever had he done nothing else.” Frémont, as is well known, had many
critics who resented his fame and scoffed at the title of “Pathfinder.”
Bancroft, however, vigorously defended him stating that the explorer
always credited those who had gone before and did not exaggerate his
personal successes. The historian superbly put into context the importance
of his accomplishments: “He [Frémont] mentioned over and over again the
fact that the trappers or immigrants had everywhere preceded him. His
task was altogether different from theirs; it was to explore scientifically
a country with which they had been long familiar, but respecting which
their knowledge was not available for geographical purposes. He performed
his task in a manner creditable to his intelligence and energy; shirked
no hardships involved in the performance; and described his achievements
with all due modesty. His work was the first and a very important step
in the great transcontinental surveys...and for his service as topographical
engineer Frémont deserves praise.”
The text of Frémont’s expeditions was reprinted in his Memoirs
of My Life (Chicago and New York: Belford, Clarke & Company,
1887). Frémont biographer Allan Nevins edited a reprint of the expeditionary
text as Narratives of Exploration and Adventure by John Charles Frémont
(New York: Longmans, Green & Company, 1956). The reports of the first
two Frémont expeditions were published in The Expeditions of John
Charles Fremont: Travels from 1838 to 1844 (Urbana: University of
Illinois Press, 1970), edited by Donald Jackson and Mary Lee Spence.